Truck upgrade!

[ajcampers]

After having our Jayco Whitehawk 27RB for 5 years we finally upgraded from a Ram 1500 to a Ram 2500. The 1500 was a 2009 and over 200k miles. I decided on the 2500 as I wanted more stability and to open future possibilities of a 5th wheel down the road.

Now that I have the 2500, I don't think I'll ever go back to towing with the 1500. Don't get me wrong, the old truck has plenty of power to get the job done. The bigger truck just handles the load better in every aspect.

With the WDH, I measured the height of the ball on level ground on the old truck and adjusted it to be the same height on the new truck. It handles great and is level. I finally got around to measuring the height of the front Fender on the new truck and thought it was interesting.

This measurement taken from the ground to the Fender right above the front tire.

40 3/4" unloaded
41 3/8" full load no wdh
41 1/4 w/wdh

As you can see, with the wdh it doesn't change much. My old 1500 would be slammed on the bump stops without the WDH.

I'm sharing this as its amazing to me the difference. Yeah half-tons can have high tow ratings and still have comfortable drive unloaded but they're not build for heavy Payload.

I even get better fuel economy with the 6.4l hemi pulling this trailer that I did with the 5.7. Going from Cincinnati to Tennessee I got 10mpg, the old truck would of been 8. Larger tank is nice too.

I'm sure this 2500HD would be more tested if and when we upgrade to a larger camper or 5th wheel.

[Jagiven]

Beautiful truck. If I had my choice that was the color I wanted.

We jumped to a RAM 3500 as I needed a new truck the old one was having major issues. This truck was sitting on the used are lot at a decent price. I ran the numbers with our current TT, and it barely changes without the WDH attached. I am very confident I do not need a WDH, but I like the idea of the integrated sway control. The WDH is setup as light as I could get them to engage.

We too are looking at 5vers, and I noticed on the 2500 and the 5vers we had been looking at could run short on payload with a 2500 if the conditions were right. So with this 3500 being on the lot, we decided to jump in head first.

Congratulations

[spoon059]

It is night and day moving up to a HD pickup. For all the advertising dollars and claims they make about half tons, they are ultimately designed to be a comfortable ride, mostly commuter vehicle that can also sometimes tow or haul something. And a lot of them do that well.

But moving up to a truck that was designed to work is a really nice change. I don't ever see myself moving down to a half ton truck again, even if we sold the camper. An HD gives you so much more, for not really much more money. Comfort is subjective, but my 2015 3/4 ton Ram is just as comfortable as the 2010 Tundra that it replaced, which was way more comfortable than the 1995 F150 it replaced. But the safety and durability of the heavier truck is objective. Bigger brakes, stronger frame, heavier all around, stiffer tires, bigger engine, bigger fuel tank, more payload. All of these things make for a better towing experience.

[Russc25]

As has been discussed elsewhere, the numbers might not reflect a big jump quantitatively but the qualitative difference is night and day.

A half ton at it's weight rating is at 90% of it's ability, it's OK to do that once in a while but you'll wear it out. Half tons are by and large meant as grocery getters for karens that need to get a bag of mulch every year.

A 3/4 or 1 ton at it's weight rating will run all day long, then all night, then the next day, and keep on going. It'll take whatever you throw at it and won't care. It's not 1000lbs stronger, it's an order of magnitude stronger.

[JKyle]

Nice truck!